wymunfandomcom-20200215-history
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom comprises of four separate entities which consider themselves to be countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The first three countries comprise the landmass of the island known as Great Britain, whilst Northern Ireland shares an island with the Republic of Ireland. Various tribes and states have existed before the Scotland joined the other countries to create the United Kingdom in 1707. The island of Great Britain has been invaded numerous times over the past three millenia, by Romans, Vikings, Angles and Saxons, but has not been successfully conquered since the Normans took the throne at the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066. Often in the History of the United Kingdom, infighting between different countries occurs. England has conquered Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland, but has never successfully invaded Scotland. Wales and Scotland both have ties together, seeing as they where both of Gaelic decedents. The UK is a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state of the UK. The Crown has sovereignty over the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, which are not part of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has an uncodified constitution. The Constitution of the United Kingdom consists mostly of a collection of separated written sources, including statutes, judge-made case law, and international treaties. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law," the UK Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. Human Rights Whilst often considered to be amongst the world leaders in terms of Human Rights, the United Kingdom is not without it share of reports of abuses of these rights during its histoy. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK), with a population of 60.8 million, is a constitutional monarchy with a multiparty, parliamentary form of government. Citizens elect representatives to the House of Commons, the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature. They last did so in free and fair elections in 2010. Members of the upper chamber, the House of Lords, occupy hereditary or appointed seats. Civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. There were some reports of police misconduct and occasional abuse of detainees and other persons by police and military personnel and employees of government contractors. There were also reports of overcrowded prisons and some inadequate prison infrastructure. Societal problems included discrimination against religious minorities; mistreatment of women, children, ethnic minorities, gay persons, and persons with disabilities; and trafficking of persons. Facts Funny Fact: In London the tube route from Leicester Square to Covenant Garden is the most popular tube route for tourists despite the fact that it is actually quicker to cover this distance on foot! Facts (England): Motto: Dieu et mon droit (God and my right) Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W Area: 129,720 sq km Population 49,561,800 Highest Point: Scarfell Pike 978m Lowest Point- The Fens, 4.6 metres (15 feet) below sea level Official Animal- lion Facts: (Scotland): Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (No one provokes me with impunity) Area: 78,789 sq km Population: 5,054,800 Main Religions: Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) Scottish Episcopal Church, Roman Catholicism Highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m Lowest Point: Bed of Loch Morar, Scotland 987 ft (300 m) below sea level Official Animal: Unicorn Category:Countries